Perforated panel in cooking compartment of gas appliance

ABSTRACT

A domestic cooking appliance for heating a food item includes a main housing; a cooking compartment in the main housing, the cooking compartment being configured to receive the food item to be heated; a shelf located in the cooking compartment and configured to support the food item to be heated; a gas burner configured to provide heat to the cooking compartment; and a perforated panel located between the gas burner and the shelf, the perforated panel having a plurality of openings.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention is directed to a domestic cooking appliance. Moreparticularly, embodiments of the invention are directed to an ovenhaving a perforated panel above a gas burner located in the oven.

An example of an application for the invention is a domestic kitchen gasoven having a perforated panel between a gas burner and a shelf or pansupporting an item to be heated by the gas burner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Some modern domestic kitchens include cooking appliances such as ovensand ranges that have a gas burner located in the bottom of a cookingcompartment. These cooking appliances often have a metal panel above thegas burner that protects the gas burner from spills or other debrisdropping from an item being cooked in the cooking compartment.

Applicants recognized an improvement to the above arrangement andimplement that improvement in embodiments of the invention.

SUMMARY

The invention achieves the benefit of improving cooking performancewhile also protecting the gas burner from spills or other debrisdropping from the item being cooked.

In some cooking appliances that have a metal (or other material) panellocated above the gas burner, the panel is solid so that there are noopenings through which debris can pass. This arrangement directs amajority, if not all, of the heat from the gas burner around the paneland up the sides of the cooking compartment. As a result, heat isdirected away from the bottom of a pan, rack, or shelf on which the fooditem is supported. More direct cooking can be achieved if at least aportion of the heat from the gas burner is not directed away from thebottom of the pan, rack, or shelf on which the food item is supported.

The invention provides an improvement to cooking performance bypositioning a perforated panel above the gas burner and below the pan,rack, or shelf on which the food item is supported. The inventivearangement of the perforations allow heat from the gas burner to moredirectly reach the bottom of the pan, rack, or shelf, while alsopreventing debris from the food item from reaching the gas burner.

Particular embodiments of the invention are directed to a domesticcooking appliance for heating a food item. The domestic cookingappliance having a main housing; a cooking compartment in the mainhousing, the cooking compartment being configured to receive the fooditem to be heated; a shelf located in the cooking compartment andconfigured to support the food item to be heated; a gas burnerconfigured to provide heat to the cooking compartment; and a perforatedpanel located between the gas burner and the shelf, the perforated panelhaving a plurality of openings.

In some embodiments, the perforated panel has a plurality of uppermembers and a plurality of lower members, the upper members being offsethorizontally relative to the lower members.

Other embodiments of the invention are directed to a domestic cookingappliance for heating a food item. The domestic cooking appliance havinga main housing; a cooking compartment in the main housing, the cookingcompartment being configured to receive the food item to be heated; agas burner configured to provide heat to the cooking compartment; and adrip panel located above the gas burner, the drip panel having aplurality of upper members and a plurality of lower members, the uppermembers being offset horizontally relative to the lower members. Each ofthe lower members has an upward facing surface that has a low point andwalls extending upward from the low point such that the lower member isconcave upward.

In some embodiments, every fluid path through the drip panel includes anon-vertical component.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following figures form part of the present specification and areincluded to further demonstrate certain aspects of the disclosedfeatures and functions, and should not be used to limit or define thedisclosed features and functions. Consequently, a more completeunderstanding of the exemplary embodiments and further features andadvantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary appliance in accordancewith embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of a cooking chamber;

FIG. 3 is a front sectional view of a cooking chamber in accordance withembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a front sectional view of a cooking chamber in accordance withembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a front sectional view of a cooking chamber in accordance withembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an appliance in accordance withembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a perforated insert in accordance withembodiments of the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view along section line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention is described herein with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. Theinvention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and shouldnot be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

As explained above, embodiments of the invention provide an improvementto a domestic oven or other cooking appliance.

FIG. 1 shows a domestic cooking appliance 10 in accordance withembodiments of the invention. Appliance 10 has a cooktop 40 with aplurality of heating elements 42. Also shown in this example are acontrol panel 30 having various controls including a touch panel 32. Adoor 20 provides access to a cooking compartment inside appliance 10 byway of a handle 22. Appliance 10 is just one example of appliances inaccordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a cooking compartment 50 of anappliance. Cooking compartment 50 is inside a housing 100 that has sideswalls 110, 120. A pan 170 supports a food item 11 to be heated and/orcooked in cooking compartment 50. A solid panel 190 is positioned abovea gas burner 180. Passages 195 are provided to allow heat from gasburner 180 to flow beneath panel 190 and into cooking compartment 50.Arrows A show heat flowing around panel 190 and through passages 195.The heat then travels up the sides of cooking compartment 50 as shown byArrows B, and predominantly heats food item 11 by contacting food item11 from the top and sides. This configuration has the disadvantage ofnot providing significant heat to food item 11 through pan 170.

FIG. 3 shows an example of embodiments of the invention in which aperforated panel 200 is provided to overcome the disadvantages of theconfiguration shown in FIG. 2. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3,perforated panel 200 is positioned above gas burner 180 and below pan170. Pan 170 will be referred to as a pan for simplicity. It is notedthat, in embodiments, pan 170 is a pan, a rack, a shelf, or any othermember that supports food item 11. Perforated panel 200 has a pluralityof upper members 230 and a plurality of lower members 210. In thisembodiment, perforated panel 200 is supported on housing 100 by endmembers 220. In other embodiments, other structure is provided tosupport perforated panel 200. This embodiment includes a trough 130around at least a portion of the lower perimeter of housing 100. Trough130 is configured to catch and retain drippings and other debris thatfalls from pan 170, food item 11, or other areas. Some debris that fallsonto end members 220 continues down end members 220 and into trough 130.

Openings 264 exist between adjacent upper members 230. Passages 262exist between lower members 210 and upper members 230 to providepathways for heat from gas burner 180, as shown by Arrows C. At least aportion of the heat passing through openings 264 moves upward andcontacts a lower side of pan 170 and/or food item 11, as shown by ArrowsD. This direct heating of pan 170 provides improved cooking performancefor certain types of cooking. As shown by Arrows E and F, a portion ofthe heat passing through openings 264 (predominantly that passingthrough the outermost passages 264) will move around the sides of pan170 and heat food item 11 by contacting food item 11 from the top andsides.

Due to the offset configuration of upper members 230 relative to lowermembers 210, drippings and other debris falling from pan 170 and/or fooditem 11 will contact either the top surface of upper members 230 or thetop surface of lower members 210. Drippings and other debris thatcontacts the top surface of upper members 230 will either remain on thetop surface of upper members 230, or will move off of upper members 230and fall onto lower members 210. The concave upward shape of lowermembers 210 will cause any drippings or other debris to remain on lowermembers 210. The above configuration results in little or no debrispassing through perforated panel 200 and contacting gas burner 180 orthe flames emanating from burner 180. Although upper members 230 areshown as flat (planar), it is noted that other shapes can be used forupper members 230. Although lower members 210 are shown as trapezoidalin shape, it is noted that other shapes can be used for lower members210.

As a result of the above-described configuration, embodiments of theinvention provide the benefit of heat more directly contacting thebottom of pan 170 and/or food item 11 without the disadvantage of debriscontacting gas burner 180 or the flames emanating from gas burner 180.

In embodiments, perforated panel 200 is removable from appliance 10 forcleaning. In the case of cooking very greasy (or other debris producing)food, frequent cleaning of perforated panel 200 may be desirable. As aresult, an easily removable perforated panel 200 is beneficial. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 3, perforated panel 200 simply rests on housing100 at lower surfaces of end members 220 and is easily lifted forremoval.

FIG. 4 shows an example of embodiments of the invention in which aperforated panel 300 is provided. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4,perforated panel 300 is positioned above gas burner 180 and below pan170. Perforated panel 300 has a plurality of upper members 330 and aplurality of lower members 320. In this embodiment, perforated panel 300is supported on housing 100 by end members 310. In other embodiments,other structure is provided to support perforated panel 300. Thisembodiment includes trough 130 around at least a portion of the lowerperimeter of housing 100. As with the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, trough130 is configured to catch and retain drippings and other debris thatfalls from pan 170, food item 11, or other areas. Some debris that fallsonto end members 310 continues over end members 310 and into trough 130.

Openings 364 exist between adjacent upper members 330. Passages 362exist between lower members 320 and upper members 330 to providepathways for heat from gas burner 180, as shown by Arrows C. At least aportion of the heat passing through openings 364 moves upward andcontacts a lower side of pan 170 and/or food item 11, as shown by ArrowsD. This direct heating of pan 170 provides improved cooking performancefor certain types of cooking. As shown by Arrows E and F, a portion ofthe heat passing through openings 364 (predominantly that passingthrough the outermost passages 364) will move around the sides of pan170 and heat food item 11 by contacting food item 11 from the top andsides.

Due to the offset configuration of upper members 330 relative to lowermembers 320, drippings and other debris falling from pan 170 and/or fooditem 11 will contact either the top surface of upper members 330 or thetop surface of lower members 320. Drippings and other debris thatcontacts the top surface of upper members 330 will either remain on thetop surface of upper members 330, or will move off of upper members 330and fall onto lower members 320. The concave upward shape of lowermembers 320 will cause any drippings or other debris to remain on lowermembers 320. The above configuration results in little or no debrispassing through perforated panel 300 and contacting gas burner 180 orthe flames emanating from burner 180. Although upper members 330 areshown as triangular in shape, it is noted that other shapes can be usedfor upper members 330. Although lower members 320 are shown astriangular in shape, it is noted that other shapes can be used for lowermembers 320.

As a result of the above-described configuration, embodiments of theinvention provide the benefit of heat more directly contacting thebottom of pan 170 and/or food item 11 without the disadvantage of debriscontacting gas burner 180 or the flames emanating from gas burner 180.

In embodiments, perforated panel 300 is removable from appliance 10 forcleaning. In the case of cooking very greasy (or other debris producing)food, frequent cleaning of perforated panel 300 may be desirable. As aresult, an easily removable perforated panel 300 is beneficial. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 4, perforated panel 300 simply rests on housing100 at lower surfaces of end members 310 and is easily lifted forremoval.

FIG. 5 shows an example of embodiments of the invention in which aperforated panel 400 is provided. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5,perforated panel 400 is positioned above gas burner 180 and below pan170. Perforated panel 400 has a plurality of upper members 430. Unlikethe embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, perforated panel 400 has nolower members. The function performed by lower members 210, 320 in FIGS.3 and 4 is performed by a lower panel 500. In this embodiment, lowerpanel 500 is a solid panel with no perforations. In this embodiment,perforated panel 400 is supported on housing 100 by end members. Inother embodiments, other structure is provided to support perforatedpanel 400. This embodiment includes trough 130 around at least a portionof the lower perimeter of housing 100. As with the embodiment shown inFIGS. 3 and 4, trough 130 is configured to catch and retain drippingsand other debris that falls from pan 170, food item 11, or other areas.Some debris that falls onto the end members continues over the endmembers and into trough 130.

Openings 464 exist between adjacent upper members 430. Heat from gasburner 180 flows around lower panel 500, as shown by Arrows G. The heatcontinues upward through openings 464, as shown by arrows H. At least aportion of the heat passing through openings 464 moves upward andcontacts a lower side of pan 170 and/or food item 11, as shown by ArrowsD. This direct heating of pan 170 provides improved cooking performancefor certain types of cooking. As shown by Arrows E and F, a portion ofthe heat passing through openings 464 (predominantly that passingthrough the outermost passages 464) will move around the sides of pan170 and heat food item 11 by contacting food item 11 from the top andsides.

Due to the solid nature of lower panel 500, drippings and other debrisfalling from pan 170 and/or food item 11 will contact either the topsurface of upper members 430 or the top surface of lower panel 500.Drippings and other debris that contacts the top surface of uppermembers 430 will either remain on the top surface of upper members 430,or will move off of upper members 430 and fall onto lower panel 500. Theconcave upward shape of lower panel 500 in this example will cause anydrippings or other debris to remain on lower panel 500. The aboveconfiguration results in little or no debris passing by lower panel 500and contacting gas burner 180 or the flames emanating from burner 180.Although upper members 430 are shown as flat (planar), it is noted thatother shapes can be used for upper members 430, including concaveupward, convex upward, or other shapes. Although lower panel 500 isshown as concave upward, it is noted that other shapes can be used forlower panel 500.

As a result of the above-described configuration, embodiments of theinvention provide the benefit of heat more directly contacting thebottom of pan 170 and/or food item 11 without the disadvantage of debriscontacting gas burner 180 or the flames emanating from gas burner 180.

In embodiments, perforated panel 400 and lower panel 500 are removablefrom appliance 10 for cleaning. In the case of cooking very greasy (orother debris producing) food, frequent cleaning of perforated panel 400and/or lower panel 500 may be desirable. As a result, easily removableperforated panel 400 and lower panel 500 are beneficial. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 5, perforated panel 400 simply rests on housing100 at lower surfaces of the end members and is easily lifted forremoval. Similarly, in the embodiment of FIG. 5, lower panel 500 simplyrests on structure that is attached to housing 100 or another part ofappliance 10.

FIGS. 6-8 show an example of a perforated panel 600 in accordance withembodiments of the invention. In this example, appliance 10 has twoperforated panels 600 positioned in cooking compartment 50. While twoperforated panels 600 are used in this example, more or fewer perforatedpanels can be used. In this example, perforated panel 600 has aplurality of upper members 630 and a plurality of lower members 640.Openings 668 exist between adjacent upper members 630, and openings 662exist between adjacent lower members 640. Passages 664 exist betweenlower members 640 and upper members 630 to provide pathways for heatfrom gas burner 180. At least a portion of the heat passing throughopenings 668 moves upward and contacts a lower side of pan 170 and/orfood item 11, as shown in the embodiments of FIGS. 3-5. In theembodiment shown in FIGS. 6-8, upper members 630, lower members 640, andend members 620 are held in place by caps 610. Caps 610 can be welded toupper members 630, lower members 640, and end members 620, or some othertype of fixed or removable fastening can be used. A removable type offastening allows disassembly for a potentially more thorough cleaning.

In embodiments, the various parts of the perforated panels and lowerpanels shown in the figures are made of metal, coated metal (such as,for example, enameled steel), ceramic, or some other heat resistantmaterial that can withstand the heat generated by gas burner 180.

Although not shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a catch tray (similar to that shownin FIG. 2) can be provided below gas burner 180 to catch any materialthat might fall past gas burner 180. Although various embodiments showthe perforated panel resting on housing 100, other embodiments supportthe perforated panel by other means such as, for example, a frame work,brackets extending from a back or side surface of the cookingcompartment, or some other means.

Although one gas burner 180 is shown in the examples, it is noted thatmore than one gas burner 180 can be used. As can be seen from FIGS. 3-5,embodiments of the invention work effectively with any number of burnerswithout having to change the configuration of the perforated panel.

It will be appreciated that variants of the above-disclosed and otherfeatures and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined intomany other different systems or applications. Any of the featuresdescribed above can be combined with any other feature described aboveas long as the combined features are not mutually exclusive. Variouspresently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications,variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by thoseskilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A domestic cooking appliance for heating a fooditem, comprising: a main housing; a cooking compartment in the mainhousing, the cooking compartment being configured to receive the fooditem to be heated; a shelf located in the cooking compartment andconfigured to support the food item to be heated; a gas burnerconfigured to provide heat to the cooking compartment; and a perforatedpanel located between the gas burner and the shelf, the perforated panelhaving a plurality of openings.
 2. The domestic cooking appliance ofclaim 1, wherein the perforated panel is located above the gas burner,and the shelf is located above the perforated panel.
 3. The domesticcooking appliance of claim 2, wherein the perforated panel has aplurality of upper members and a plurality of lower members, the uppermembers being offset horizontally relative to the lower members.
 4. Thedomestic cooking appliance of claim 3, wherein every fluid path throughthe perforated panel includes a non-vertical component.
 5. The domesticcooking appliance of claim 4, wherein the perforated panel is removablefrom, and replaceable into, the cooking compartment without damaging theperforated panel.
 6. The domestic cooking appliance of claim 5, whereinthe gas burner is located in a depression in a lower surface of thecooking compartment.
 7. The domestic cooking appliance of claim 3,wherein the upper members are planar and are arranged along one plane.8. The domestic cooking appliance of claim 3, wherein each of the lowermembers has an upward facing surface that has a low point and wallsextending upward from the low point such that the lower member isconcave upward.
 9. The domestic cooking appliance of claim 8, whereinevery fluid path through the perforated panel includes a non-verticalcomponent.
 10. The domestic cooking appliance of claim 9, wherein thelower members are configured to catch debris falling from above theupper members.
 11. The domestic cooking appliance of claim 10, whereinthe cooking compartment has a trough around the perimeter of theperforated panel, a low region in the trough being lower than an uppersurface of the perforated panel.
 12. The domestic cooking appliance ofclaim 1, wherein the openings in the perforated panel are arrangeddirectly below the shelf.
 13. The domestic cooking appliance of claim 1,further comprising a lower panel located above the gas burner and belowthe perforated panel.
 14. The domestic cooking appliance of claim 13,wherein the lower panel is a solid panel.
 15. A domestic cookingappliance for heating a food item, comprising: a main housing; a cookingcompartment in the main housing, the cooking compartment beingconfigured to receive the food item to be heated; a gas burnerconfigured to provide heat to the cooking compartment; and a drip panellocated above the gas burner, the drip panel having a plurality of uppermembers and a plurality of lower members, the upper members being offsethorizontally relative to the lower members, wherein each of the lowermembers has an upward facing surface that has a low point and wallsextending upward from the low point such that the lower member isconcave upward.
 16. The domestic cooking appliance of claim 15, whereinevery fluid path through the drip panel includes a non-verticalcomponent.
 17. The domestic cooking appliance of claim 16, wherein thedrip panel is removable from, and replaceable into, the cookingcompartment without damaging the drip panel.
 18. The domestic cookingappliance of claim 17, wherein each of the upper members has an upwardfacing surface that has a high point and walls extending downward fromthe high point such that the upper member is convex upward.
 19. Thedomestic cooking appliance of claim 15, wherein the drip panel isremovable from, and replaceable into, the cooking compartment withoutdamaging the drip panel.
 20. The domestic cooking appliance of claim 19,wherein each of the upper members has an upward facing surface that hasa high point and walls extending downward from the high point such thatthe upper member is convex upward.